Raising Girls

Look at how much older my girl is getting.  I just love her so very much!!!  Where is the time going?   Anna has such a fun and loving personality. She's always saying things that surprise us.  Last week she hugged my belly and said, "I'm sad, little baby, that I'm going to be in kindgergarten and I'm not going to be able to play with you every day."  The other evening when she was helping me set the table for dinner, she looked in her salad bowl and said, "Mom, can I please have more salad than this?"  How cool.  A 5-year old who wants more salad.  NO problem! (not that she's always that happy to eat healthy food : )

Recently I had a conversation with a friend about how parenthood is full of such blessing and difficulty -  heat and dew at the same time. By God's grace we often learn about ourselves and our own struggles when we notice and confront the struggles that our children are facing.  That's one of many ways that God parents us as we parent the children that he has entrusted to us.  It seems as though in the last several months/year, we've entered a whole new phase of parenting.  Anna's struggles are requiring a lot less "discipline" and a whole lot more conversation and guidance. Without going into details, our little Anna recently made some comments about her abilities, contentment, clothing, etc., while also comparing herself to others.  I'm so thankful that God has given opportunity to see my daughter's heart in these matters (albeit so young).  I can't help but think of how I've struggled with such matters as a child and now as an adult ... but what woman doesn't continue to idolize and struggle with such things (appearance, comparisons, wordly possessions) as she ages and matures?  It reveals itself in many different forms and thoughts, doesn't it?  In my quest to search the scriptures and to carefully consider how to approach this subject with a five year old, God exposed my heart and sin: ) Double blessing : )

Oh, Anna, having nice clothes and beautiful things are ok, but they are not the best things.  God cares about the heart and because of Christ, God can give you a heart that desires to please him.

 "But godliness with contentment is great gain.  For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it."    I Timothy 6:6-7

"Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised." Proverbs 31:30